Garbage Can Potatoes

Here's my first attempt at video blogging. I shot this with my new iPhone 3Gs (in stores now!).

This is the second year I've tried to grow potatoes in these garbage cans. The first year was a bust but these are looking pretty fabulous!

Garbage Can Sweet Potatoes

Who says you can't grow sweet potatoes using the garbage can method? 

I planted one trash can of sweet potatoes on the same day that I did the white potatoes.  These were plain organic sweet potatoes I bought from Whole Foods.  I cut them into pieces and covered them with dirt. 

When I posted this the first time I had a commenter say that, unfortunately, you can't grow sweet potatoes using this method.  I was ready to throw the dirt out of this can when I spotted this. 

Now I suppose it could be some freak weed growing but I'm thinkin that's a sweet potato plant!  YAHOO!

There's only one in there, but still, I'm growing sweet potatoes in a garbage can!

Technorati Tags: growing potatoes in garbage can,organic vegetable gardening,sweet potatoes

Garbage Can Potato Update

Don't look now but I think there might be a potato plant growing in my garbage can!

A few weeks ago I posted about trying to grow potatoes in a garbage can for the first time.  I've never grown potatoes and I've certainly never planted anything in a garbage can.  I stole this idea from Marc over at Garden Desk. 

Well, just when I was ready to mark this project down as a total failure, I noticed this cute little thing growing in one of the garbage cans.  Is this a potato plant?  Please say yes! 

It looks like my success rate will be really low with this but even if I get one potato out of the deal I'll be jazzed.  I only see one plant in the garbage can where I planted the white potatoes.  No growth in the one where I planted the sweet potatoes.

Interim Lessons Learned

• Buy seed potatoes early because they sell fast and the grocery store ones are harder to use because they are often sprayed with a chemical to prevent sprouting. (I used Whole Foods Organic ones)
• Plant way earlier.
• Figure out how to protect from squirrels (they've dug up a lot of the potatoes already).
• Figure out how to properly grow sweet potatoes. According to a commenter on a previous post, you can't grow sweet potatoes this way.  I don't remember why.

Stay tuned for my July Bloom Day post coming later this evening.

Technorati Tags: garbage can potatoes,growing potatoes,organic vegetable gardening,container gardening

Garbage Can Potatoes

There is no question that potatoes are the most perfect food. In fact, if I was forced to pick one food I'd eat every day for the rest of my life, it'd be potatoes (spaghetti is a very close second).

Since I started gardening last year I've wanted to try growing potatoes but I'm rather grossed out by the fact that they grow under ground with all the worms and lord knows what slithering around them. I realize that's not rational - I'm just being honest.

So, when Mark over at Garden Desk posted about growing potatoes in a garbage can I nearly shouted out loud - EUREKA!

The concept is very simple and clean (for dirt, I mean). You take a cheap plastic trash can...

Drill holes in the bottom and around the bottom sides for drainage...

Put some dirt in the bottom...

Throw some potatoes on the dirt and cover them up with more dirt. Keep in full sun and water when you water your other stuff.

When the plant grows to about a foot tall, you add about 6 more inches of dirt around the stem. Repeat this until the plant turns brown. In theory, the potatoes will grow all along the stem of the plant the entire length of the trash can, safe from whatever it is that lives and squirms in the dirt.

As you can see I forgot to take the very important photo that shows the potatoes laying on the dirt. But, picture this; 3 red potatoes cut into pieces making sure to leave 3 eyes per piece. The other can is about the same only I used sweet potatoes.

Lessons learned already:

1. Buy the seed potatoes way earlier so that you are not forced to just go to the grocery store asking for rotten potatoes. That was down right embarrassing, and unproductive.
2. Potatoes are frequently treated with chemicals to prevent them from sprouting. (I learned this after planting, tisk tisk) Buy seed potatoes, not regular ole potatoes.

There is no growth so far and I'm really not that hopeful given my late start and potentially chemically treated potatoes. But if by some wild chance it works, I'll be able to dump the trash can out onto a tarp and there will be a big pile of delicious potatoes.

If you could only pick one food to eat every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Technorati Tags: growing organic potatoes,organic vegetable gardening,container gardening